It put an end to Wellington's three match winning streak while also stopping the Mariners falling to a third straight away loss.

The conditions were tough, especially in the opening stages as Wellington showed why it has earned the nickname Windy Wellington, with a stiff wind preventing both teams playing the way they would have liked.

Despite the wind the Mariners were able to hold most of the possession in the opening stages, and in the 16th minute they were able to open the scoring.

Wellington failed to clear the ball and could only get it as far as Matt Simon who was able to slam home the opener, a deserved goal for the Mariners.

The Mariners looked to remain the better side throughout the first half, with Wellington regularly giving up possession, but the Mariners really lacked that cutting edge.

Just when the Mariners thought they'd be heading in to the break in front Kenny Cunningham ended that hope as he was able to beat Storm Roux before sending a shot past Liam Reddy to make it 1-1 at the break.

Wellington reversed the first half as they were able to have the bulk of possession in the early stages of the second half, but, like the Mariners, struggled to turn that possession in to chances.

With 11 minutes to play the Mariners were handed a chance to win the game as Glen Moss fouled Mariners' defender Trent Sainsbury for a penalty.

That allowed Grand Final penalty scorer, Daniel McBreen, to step up but the veteran looked tired after his off-season stint in China and sent the penalty well wide.

That let Wellington off the hook while it cost the Mariners two points, despite that, and the perceived decline of the Mariners, they find themselves in third place, although that could change with Victory playing midweek, and sitting just behind in fourth.

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Chris Hockman is a passionate soccer fan, originally from Australia, Chris moved to the USA in early 2010. In Australia he worked for A-League club, Central Coast Mariners, one cup, one premiership, two grandfinals & an Asian Champions League campaign were particular highlights, along with working various Football Federation Australia events. Chris can be reached at chris@sanantoniosoccernews.com.